There is a reason why toy makers have made plastic gears, gear motors, and gear crank handles for kids to play with. It is because such things actually exist in the adult world, and an early introduction to gears motivates kids to learn how gears work. If you played with gears as a kid, then what you learned by playing with your plastic gear sets may be helpful to you as an electrician. Here's how:

Gearbox Repair

It seems strange that an electrician would be called to fix an industrial gearbox; however, it is not as strange as you might think. Gearboxes of this sort are powered by electrical motors. If the electrical motors are not working, then neither is the gearbox. Since the force and movement within a gearbox are essential for turning a much larger factory component to accomplish a job, an electrician is called in to fix the motor and/or the gears in the gearbox itself. 

The Gears

There are about a half dozen or so enormous gears inside a gearbox. A primary gear is part of the motor, and the motor causes the primary gear to turn. When the primary gear turns, the gear next to it turns. This second gear may be vertical or horizontal, but each of the prongs of the two gears fit zipper-style with each other and they turn together. The third, fourth, fifth, and maybe even sixth gears are also turning. 

With all of this movement and interaction, the gears can eventually wear down so they fit together less and less. The teeth of the gears fail to mesh, and you have a breakdown of the gearbox followed by a breakdown of the process that the gearbox helps. As each successive part in the factory shuts down, it is going to be harder and harder to conduct daily operations. The enormous gears need to be carefully removed one by one, examined, and replaced. Since all of these gears are connected to an electrical motor, that becomes your job as an electrician to remove and replace the gears. 

Remembering How They Move

As a kid, you saw how the "teeth" of one gear fit with the "teeth" of the second gear. If the first gear moved clockwise, then the second gear moved counterclockwise. When you stood another gear upright, and the first gear was horizontal (i.e. flat) and moved counterclockwise, the vertical gear moved clockwise. To fix a gearbox properly, you must first see how the gears typically move. You have to remember that motion as you replace gears so they'll move the same directions as before.

For more information, contact companies like Hackworth Electric Motors, Inc.